[PAGE IN PROGRESS]
King Troll (The Fawn) by Sonali Bhattacharyya (NDT)
King Troll (The Fawn) by Sonali Bhattacharyya
An NDT/KALI Production
nominated for 3 Off West End Awards (Staging, Lighting and Sound Design)
Directed by Milli Bhatia
Ft Diyar Bozkurt, Ayesha Dharker, Zainab Hasan, Dominic Holmes and Safiyya Ingar
Design by Rajha Shakiry
Associate Designer Yimei Zhao
Movement Direction by Iskandar Sharazuddin
Lighting Design by Elliot Griggs
Sound Design by XANA
Fight Director Bret Yount
Voice and Dialect Gurkiran Kaur
Wellbeing Practitioner Eshmit Kaur
Stage Manager (on book): Stacey Nurse
Stage Manager (props): Masha Kononovs
Production photography by Helen Murray
Poster photography by Felix Pilgrim
Further information here
A Dystopian tale about the corrosive impact of state racism and the monster within two migrant sisters. Finalist for the 2023 Women’s Prize for Playwriting, King Troll (The Fawn) is a dark and otherworldly thriller about two South Asian sisters, desperate to escape the border regime without losing their humanity. Is that even possible on this island?
A dystopian exploration of migrant experiences in all their complexity.
Riya and Nikita navigate the increasingly authoritarian island where they live in wildly different ways. Insecure, stateless, both desperate for somewhere to call ‘home’.
Riya is offered the chance to create an advocate in the form of a homunculus, or fawn, and sees a chance to elevate herself above the cruelty meted out to others.
Nikita tries to keep her saviour complex in check as she negotiates the challenges and hypocrisy of the third sector, where she supports young migrants. Her deep connection with one client forces her to confront the limitations of her work.
King Troll is about the troll that lives within all of us - whispering ‘me, not us’, and definitely ‘me’ first.
“Big, angry bear,
Drags you by the hair,
Rough, wet tongue,
Licks you ‘til you cum.
Sharp, curved claws,
Tear your silky drawers,
Smooth, arched back,
Hear your spine go crack.”
Blue Mist by Mohamed-Zain Dada (Royal Court)
Blue Mist by Mohamed-Zain Dada
A Royal Court and Sister Pictures production
nominated for the Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement An An Affiliate Theatre, winner of the Asian Media Award for Best Stage Production
Directed by Milli Bhatia
Ft Arian Nik, Omar Bynon and Salman Akhtar
Produced by Jasmyn Fisher-Ryner
Design by Tomás Palmer
Movement Direction by Theophilus O Bailey
Lighting Design by Elliot Griggs
Sound Design by Elena Peña
Stage Manager (on book): Catt Padgham
Stage Manager (props): Catriona Mchugh
Costume Supervisor: Isabelle Cook
Production Manager: Tabitha Piggot
Outreach Coordinator: Hannah Ali
Production photography by Ali Wright
Poster photography by Mathushaa Sagthidas
“Shisha lounges are an essential part of the Muslim experience bruv, like the Fillet o Fish”
Chunkyz Shisha Lounge is a home away from home for Jihad, Rashid and Asif, a space where community whispers are heard, jokes are told and new hustles are born. But its future is under threat, having become a target for local politicians.
Aspiring journalist, Jihad wants to fight back. After winning a competition to produce his own documentary, he sets out to create something that gives a voice to his community and challenges the usual stereotypes that fill the airwaves.
Will Jihad be able to create something that makes his boys proud? Or will his dreams of becoming a journalist come at a cost too high to bear?
“A good journalist doesn’t always play friendly. In fact, they mostly don’t”
Mohamed-Zain Dada’s debut play, Blue Mist is a story about South Asian Muslim men navigating a system that isn’t built for them. Directed by Royal Court Associate Director, Milli Bhatia.
further information here
seven methods of killing kylie jenner by Jasmine Lee-Jones
(Royal Court Upstairs/Downstairs/The Public Theater NYC/Woolly Mammoth DC)
seven methods of killing kylie jenner by Jasmine Lee-Jones
nominated for the Olivier Award for outstanding achievement in an affiliate theatre
Directed by Milli Bhatia
Ft Tia Bannon and Leanne Henlon (2021/2023) / Danielle Vitalis (2019)
Design by Rajha Shakiry
Associate Design by Jemima Robinson
Lighting Design by Jessica Hung Han Yun and Amy Mae
Sound Design by Elena Peña
Movement Direction by Delphine Gaborit
Costume Supervision by Rianna Azoro
Stage Managers: Sylvia Darkwa-Ohemeng, Ella Saunders, Constance Oak and Mica Taylor
Assistant Director : Shereen Hamilton
Voice and Dialect : Hazel Holder and Eleanor Manners
Theraputic Associate : Wabriya King
Makers : Syeda Bukhari and Ella Callow
Scenic Artist : Alice Collie
Production Manager : Marius Ronning
Photography by Helen Murray and Myah Jeffers
seven methods of killing kylie jenner explores cultural appropriation, queerness, friendship and the ownership of black bodies online and IRL.
“Look it’s two two tweets that helped me vent my frustrations. It’s really not that deep…”
Holed up in her bedroom, Cleo’s aired twenty-two Whatsapps from Kara and has cut off contact with the rest of the world. It doesn’t mean she’s been silent though – she’s got a lot to say. On the internet, actions don’t always speak louder than words…
“RETWEET
QUOTE TWEET
LIKE
I’m weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeak”
further information here
Chasing Hares by Sonali Bhattacharyya (Young Vic)
Chasing Hares by Sonali Bhattacharyya
Winner of the Sonia Friedman Production Award and the Theatre Uncut Political Award, nominated for the AMA for Best Stage Production
Directed by Milli Bhatia
Ft Ayesha Dharker, Zainab Hasan, Scott Karim, Saroja-Lily Ratnavel, Irfan Shamji
Design by Moi Tran
Lighting Design by Jai Morjaria
Projection Design by Akhila Krishnan
Sound Design by Donato Wharton
Compositon by Sarathy Korwar
Movement Direction by Chi San Howard
Voice and Dialect by Gurkiran Kaur
Stage Managers: Fiona Kennedy, Tom Lewer and Dan Roach
Wardrobe Manager: Male Arcucci
Photography by Isha Shah
“I’m not political. Not at all. Never have been. I’m a company man.”
2000s Kolkata. The Khub Bhalo factory is on lockdown and no one’s getting paid. Prab is caught between joining the picket line and the need to provide for his family. When the boss’ son ropes Prab into reinvigorating his failing folk theatre troupe, Prab seizes the opportunity to expose the injustice of factory conditions and child exploitation. Is he ready to risk his future, his family and even his own life to fight for change?
further information here
Baghdaddy by Jasmine Naziha Jones (Royal Court)
Baghdaddy by Jasmine Naziha Jones
A Royal Court and Sister Pictures production
Directed by Milli Bhatia
Ft Jasmine Naziha Jones, Philip Arditti, Souad Faress, Hayat Kamille and Noof Ousellam
Design by Moi Tran
Movement Direction by Adi Gortler
Lighting Design by Jessica Hung Han Yun
Sound Design by Elena Peña
Voice and Dialect by Edda Sharpe
Fight Direction by RC Annie
Assistant Director: Melina Namdar
Stage managers: Kate Watkins, Catt Padgham and Lamesha Rudd
Photography by Helen Murray
‘Congratulations! Your pain is commercially viable.’
It’s 1991 and the Gulf War rages three thousand, three hundred and twenty miles away. Darlee is 8 years old, crying behind the wheelie bookcase in Miss Stratford’s classroom. She’s just realised she’s Iraqi. Or half. Maybe both.
She saw it on the news last night after Neighbours and fish fingers. Heard the fear slipping through the receiver, saw it oozing from Dad’s eyeballs and into the living room as he tried to phone home.
What she can’t process now, she’ll be haunted by later; the spirits hounding her will make sure of that…
‘Operation Desert Storm; you won’t lose a wink of sleep over it. Except your Daddy. Your Daddy’s shitting his pants. Enjoy your Viennetta.’
Baghdaddy is a playfully devastating coming-of-age story, told through clowning and memory to explore the complexities of cultural identity, generational trauma and a father-daughter relationship amidst global conflict.